Milestones (Super Sentai)
As a franchise, Super Sentai is constantly evolving and changing, with new ideas and concepts emerging with each series. This is a real-world documentation of the evolution and the milestones in the franchise, showing the changes, advancements and quirks which emerge with each new series since originally starting in 1975. Himitsu Sentai Gorenger *First Sentai series/team. *First Red/Blue/Yellow/Pink/Green Rangers and team. *First replacement Ranger. *First Sentai Ranger death. *First team upgrade. *Longest Sentai series (84 episodes from 1975-1977). *Only Sentai to air at the same time as one of the "Seven Legendary Kamen Rider" series (Kamen Rider Stronger). *Highest rated Sentai series, averaging at 16.1% of Japanese viewership and Episode 41. having 22.3% of the Japanese viewing audience. J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai *Final series associated with franchise creator Shotaro Ishinomori. *First transformation device. *First yellow-less team. *First series with four Rangers on the core team. *First White ranger. *First mid-season team addition. *First actor with multiple Sentai ranger roles. *First leader replacement. *First Sentai team-up movie; only one released in theaters for 32 years. *Shortest official Sentai series (35 episodes). *100th episode of the Super Sentai series: Ep. 16: Black Baseball!! The Attacking Miracle Ball. Battle Fever J *First orange ranger. *First black ranger. *First Sentai Giant Robo. *First usage of giants by villains in the form of robotic doppelgangers. *First major Sentai villainess. *Only season with two team changes (Diane Martin -> Maria Nagisa; Kensaku Shiraishi -> Makoto Jin). *First Sentai series associated with Toei's partnership with Marvel Comics. *Final team to transform without device. *Only full-team with full-face mask (excluding an extra). *Fourth-longest Sentai series (52 episodes). *First common team sidearm (Command Bat). Denshi Sentai Denziman *First portable transformation device. *First transforming Sentai mecha/Giant Robo (0.5 Robo). *First female villain commander. *First season the main monster itself is grown. *First extraterrestrial-based power source. *First non-human/robot mentor. *First wild-card villain *200th episode of the Super Sentai series: Ep. 29: The ESPer Detective's Raid. Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan *First three-man Sentai team. **Sets precedence of Red/Blue/Yellow combination. **First Air/Water/Land trio combination. **First team whose affiliations are associated with animals. *First military-based team. *First team with representation of animals. **First bird (eagle), shark and big cat (panther) Rangers. *Only Sentai team where all Rangers are male. **First team with no pink Ranger. *First two-piece combining Giant Robo. *First transformation brace. *First and only lasting Red replacement (Ryuusuke Oowashi -> Takayuki Hiba). *Only continuation of the previous series. *First ranger and Red Ranger (VulEagle I) to possess his own individual mecha (Cosmo Vulcan). *First Evil Mecha (King Magmar) *Final season influenced by Toei/Marvel partnership. *Super Sentai reaches its 5th anniversary, despite Gorenger and JAKQ not being counted as part of the franchise at the time. Dai Sentai Goggle V *First Red/Black/Blue/Yellow/Pink combination. *First three-piece Giant Robo. *Only season where Giant Robo and transporter fight together in mech battles. *First season where the villains use mechas instead of growing the monster. (Kongs). *First of nine-consecutive seasons lead by head-writer Hirohisa Soda. *Final Sentai team to use scarfs. *First team to announce the name of the team in the opening title card. *First season to air at the same time as a Metal Heroes series ( ). *First season to have a full-season order from the beginning. *First sword sidearm (Goggle Sabre). *First Blue Ranger (GoggleBlue) and Yellow Ranger (GoggleYellow) to possess their own individual mecha (Goggle Tank and Goggle Dump). *300th episode of the Super Sentai series: Ep. 28: The Revived Dead Mozoos. Kagaku Sentai Dynaman *First team to use spandex costumes. *Prototype of battle protector utilized by DynaBlack. *First ninja Ranger. *First series to air at reduced 25-minute time length from 30-minutes starting with Ep. 10: The Intruder From Outer Space. *First multi-use sidearm, including the first sidearm gun (Dyna Rod) *First team to use individual elemental-based attacks. *First team with a non-weapon finisher (Super Dynamite). Choudenshi Bioman *First team with numerical designations. *Second two-piece Giant Robo; last for 13 years. *First team with two females. *First yellow female. *Final main-team death to occur during a season. *Final main-team replacement to occur during the season. *Only villain team with regular "monsters" as opposed to monsters-of-the week. *First villain with no association at all with the main villains. *First humanoid robot mentor. *First prototype Sixth Ranger character. *First series to have the full name of the team stated in the title card. *400th episode of the Super Sentai series: Ep. 27: The Female Warriors of Spider Hell. Dengeki Sentai Changeman *First team represented by mythological beings. **First dragon, pegasus, mermaid and phoenix Rangers, only griffin Ranger. *First female white Ranger. *First shell-firing cannon finisher. *Final team with only one Giant Robo for the entire season. *First alien mentor character. *First team with individual vehicles for the entire team. *Second-longest Sentai series (55 episodes). Choushinsei Flashman *First team to acknowledge an anniversary (10th season from Gorenger). *First combining Giant Robo with a shared cockpit. *First team with a second Giant Robo. *First team to not come from Earth (though all Rangers are Earth humans). *First series with a special final-episode ending *Last series to have two "half-seasons" ordered. *500th episode of the Super Sentai series: Ep. 21: Sorrowful Sara. Hikari Sentai Maskman *First team with an internal power source. *First five-piece Giant Robo. *Second prototype Sixth Ranger character. **First with similar power source to main team. **Final hero with full-face mask. *First female ninja hero. *First Black Ranger (Black Mask) and Pink Ranger (Pink Mask) to possess their own individual mecha (Masky Drill and Masky Gyro). Choujuu Sentai Liveman *Tenth "Super Sentai" anniversary. *Second three-person team. **First three-person team to become five-person team. ***First Red/Blue/Yellow/Black/Green team. **First three-person team with female Ranger. *First falcon, lion, dolphin, bovine (bison) and rhinoceros Rangers. *First blue female. *First animal mecha. *First super Giant Robo combination. *Final independent non-mecha carrier vehicle. *First Green Ranger (Green Sai) to possess his own individual mecha (Sai Fire). *Final series during Showa period. *600th episode of the Super Sentai series: Ep. 20: Failing Obular's Counterattack!. Kousoku Sentai Turboranger *Tenth anniversary of Super Sentai. *First Sentai team based around vehicles. *First enormous base mecha. *First teenage/high-school based team. *Prototypes of grunt hierarchy. *First series to move from Saturday to a Friday-night time, starting from Ep. 32: The Big Demonic Mystery Bird!. *First series during the Heisei period. *First team to have a full "mode change" with a change in appearance ("powerless" mode) Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman *First sibling team. *First official Power protector. *Prototype non-clone Evil Sentai team. *End of the Hirohisa Soda era. *''Ep. 26: Kyuushuu Capture'' is the lowest rated episode ever in the Soda Era and second lowest in the franchise, with only 1.8% of the Japanese audience watching. *700th episode of the Super Sentai series: Ep. 20: Burning Sibling Robot. Choujin Sentai Jetman *First team motif based on different species of birds. **First hawk, condor and swan Rangers, only owl and swallow Rangers. **The first Sentai whose motif and main character elements are homages to a popular anime (Science Ninja Team Gatchaman). *First Red/Black/Yellow/White/Blue combination. *First three-male/two female team to switch genders between the Blue and Yellow Rangers (the male wears yellow while the female wears blue). *First team that isn't fully formed by the end of the first episode. *First Sentai team to have a Third Robo, Tetraboy. *First Ranger to wear glasses regularly. *First light-blue ranger. *First and only Manga Exclusive Ranger. *First team where a main Ranger dies and isn't replaced. *First inter-dimensional villain team. *First female mentor character. *Only Sentai season with Toshiki Inoue as head-writer. *First team with two separate sidearms (Bringer Sword/Bird Blaster). *First White Ranger (White Swan) to possess her own individual mecha (Jet Swan). Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger *First official Sixth Ranger. *First season where all mecha are animals. *First team based on extinct fauna. **First dinosaur (tyrannosaurus, triceratops, pteradon), pachyderm (wooly mammoth) and smilodon Rangers. *First main Giant Robo with an alternate identity (a deity). *First seven-piece Giant Robo formation. *First Sentai season to be adapted into a Power Rangers season in the United States. *First major villain to survive at the end of the season. *First special video/DVD in association with Terebi-kun and Shogakukan. *First and only Super Sentai series to date to come to the west for a DVD release. *800th episode of the Super Sentai series: Ep. 21: The Shugozyu's Great Riot. Gosei Sentai Dairanger *First legacy Sentai team. *First Rangers based on the mythological beings of Shisha and Qi'lin, as well as the first tiger Ranger. *First team with mythological-based mecha. *First team based on a specific cultural background (Chinese). *First child Sentai Ranger. *Only third-party Sentai mecha character. *First mentor directly connected to the villains. *First team with two 0.5 Robos. Ninja Sentai Kakuranger *Celebrates 15 years of Super Sentai. *First ninja-based Sentai team. *First Sentai team based around Japanese culture. *First Rangers based on simians (ape), cranes, canines (wolf), bears and amphibians. *First male light-blue Sentai Ranger; only on main team. *First female leader. *Only team to not fully be formed by the end of the first or even the second episode. *First non-clone evil Sentai team. **The first and only all-female Sentai team. *Only post Goggle V series to not have any title card announcement (instead singing the opening bars of Secret Kakuranger). *Third-longest Sentai series (53 episodes). *900th episode of the Super Sentai series: Ep. 21: The Monkey Mimic's Finishing Move. Chouriki Sentai Ohranger *Celebrates the 20th anniversary of Gorenger and Super Sentai, retroactively putting Gorenger and JAKQ back as installments of the franchise. *Final military-based Sentai team *Oldest known Sentai Ranger in existence *First modern cross-over film with the previous team. **First sixth ranger to appear in a crossover special *Lowest rated Super Sentai series of the 1990s, averaging at 4.5% and bottoming out in episode 23 at 2.9% of the Japanese viewing audience. This would have led to the franchise's possible cancellation by Toei had it not been for the high performance of the show's toy sales figures. Gekisou Sentai Carranger *The "intentional" comedy/parody Sentai team *Second "vehicle-based" Sentai *First child mentor *First alien Sentai Extra Hero (and overall) *First Sentai "wannabe" *Prototype of multi-combining Sentai mecha *First series to use an "alternate version" of the opening theme *''Ep. 25: The Mysterious Squeezing-In Maiden!'' is, to date, the lowest rated episode in the history of the franchise. The episode averaged at only 1.4% of the Japanese viewing audience. *1000th episode of the Super Sentai series: Ep. 20: Test Drive the Ultimate Famous Cars!!. Denji Sentai Megaranger *First Silver Ranger *First black leader *Final two-piece main Giant Robo; first in 13 years *Prototype of giant grunts *Only original evil Sentai team to match the main team *First series to move from Friday to Sunday mornings, likewise regaining the 30-minute airing time lost during Dynaman, starting from Ep. 8: Will We Lose!? Reverse Teamwork Seijuu Sentai Gingaman *First gorilla and wildcat Rangers *First black Extra Hero. *First team to have powers passed on from generations to generations. *First Super Rangers *First Robo to gain powered-up form. **Only Robo to gain a powered-up form in a non-crossover special. *First series to have a five-piece Robo that is not piloted by the main team. **Only series to have two of them. *First Sentai series lead by head-writer Yasuko Kobayashi. *First season to break out of the 1990s ratings slump, averaging at 7.5% and reaching double digit ratings with Chapter 11: The Devotion of a Warrior being viewed by 10.8% of the Japanese TV audience. *1100th episode of the Super Sentai series: Chapter 21: The Tomato's Trial. Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive *Second sibling team *First Sentai team created after the death of Shotaro Ishinomori *First team specifically themed around rescue services *Only post-''Zyuranger'' team to not have any Additional, Sixth Rangers or Extra Heroes (outside a movie). Mirai Sentai Timeranger *First Pink Ranger to be the leader of the team *First 6th Ranger to be a Red Ranger. *First Sentai team where the Sixth Ranger is the same color as one of the core Rangers. *Only team with Rangers from the future. *First main-team alien Ranger *First series to air alongside a "Heisei" Kamen Rider series (Kamen Rider Kuuga) *First time a term from Power Rangers (zord) is used. *1200th episode of the Super Sentai series: Case File 21: Sion's Style. Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger *Celebrating the 25th series since Gorenger **First anniversary season to celebrate by series instead of by years *First series to have a Super Sentai anniversary movie **First movie to have a Ranger who appeared prior to the modern V-Cinemas or in a pre-V-Cinema team-up **First team up to have the anniversary team join forces with a veteran team comprised of members from different previous teams for their crossover special instead of the preceding team from last year. *First official multi-combination Giant Robo *First collectable artifact *First series to feature auxiliary mecha *First sixth ranger to have their own specific spot in the opening credits like the core members for their actor to be officially credited. *First series to annually have a theatrical movie. **First series to have the sixth ranger in a theatrical movie aside from the VS films. **First series to have a movie-exclusive mecha and robo formation. Ninpu Sentai Hurricaneger *Third three-man Sentai team **Only one since Sun Vulcan to remain three-man due to alliances *First Sentai Rangers to be based off of insects. *Only Sixth Ranger to have taken multiple identities. *1300th episode of the Super Sentai series: Scroll 19: The Big Box and the Wind-Thunder Giant. *First series to have a robo formation to be adapted into the series following its debut in the series' theatrical movie. Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger *First team with a brachiosaur Ranger. **First mentor ranger. *Only team with a tupuxura Ranger. *Second series with four Rangers on the core team. *First Super Sentai series to air in the Super Hero Time block with a Kamen Rider *First mecha and Robo that is primarily used for a single members' Super Ranger form. Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger *First Gold Ranger *First Ranger based on the domesticated dog *First season to possess a hierarchy for grunts *First Hand-Off to the next series after the final episode. *First season to have no evil organization but a recurring villain who only supports the monsters of the week. *First Robo for the core team, where both it, and it's individual components are designed exclusively for the Rangers' Super Ranger forms. *1400th episode of the Super Sentai series: Episode. 18: Samurai Go West. Mahou Sentai Magiranger *Third sibling-team **First team with Rangers based on fairies (as opposed to empowered by fairies) and Garuda/bird-men *First Regular Gold Ranger *First full-family Ranger team, including the father and mother *Only team outside of the Ishinomori era to have capes as part of their costumes. GoGo Sentai Boukenger *Celebrating the 30th series since Gorenger *First Sentai series to have both a 9-piece fusion in Super DaiBouken and a 10-piece fusion in Ultimate DaiBouken. *First Pink Ranger sentai second-in-command. *First inanimate-object Extra Hero. *First season with multiple rival villain groups. **Only season to have multiple villain groups working simultaneously in a single season. *First appearance of AkaRed, the embodied spirit of Sentai. *1500th episode of the Super Sentai series: Task. 19: The Dazzling Adventurer. Juken Sentai Gekiranger *First cheetah-themed Ranger; first Ranger based on a modern reptile (chameleon); only jaguar Ranger *First Purple Ranger *First Black/Green Extra Hero duo. **First Extra Hero duo start out evil then later turned good. **First extra heroes whose mecha can combine with those of the Sentai. *First Yellow Ranger to be the leader of the team *Final Super Sentai series to have the term "-ranger" in its title. Engine Sentai Go-Onger *First 6th Ranger duo. **First Gold and Silver colored duo. *Only Rangers based on a porpoise and a chicken. *First twelve-piece Giant Robo. *First theatrical cross-over movie in 31 years. *1600th episode of the Super Sentai series: GP 21: Childish Guys. Samurai Sentai Shinkenger *First team to contain a female Red Ranger. *Only team with a turtle and crustacean mecha *First season to have an all alliterative Sentai title. *First Super Sentai series that features a team-up with Super Sentai's sister franchise, Kamen Rider. *First special post-series V-Cinema. *Final Sentai team whose first appearance was the first episode of their series. *First Sentai to have a team-up movie, featuring a cameo of the succeeding Sentai. Tensou Sentai Goseiger *First Ranger that was originally a mecha. *First Sentai team to cameo in two preceding Sentai teams' crossover movie. *Only snake-themed Ranger *Only villain to have affiliation with multiple villain organizations *Introduces the arcade game Super Sentai Battle: Dice-O which as well as including past Super Sentai teams, is also updated to include shows after Goseiger. *1700th episode of the Super Sentai series: Epic 22: Over the Rainbow. Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger *Celebrating 35 seasons since Gorenger * Established the umbrella term "ranger". *First team where all main-team members are aliens (though the second team not of Earth) *Only series to have cameos of previous Sentai Rangers outside of teamups (although actors have returned in different roles) *First crossover with the Metal Heroes franchise *Second Sentai series to use character elements from a popular anime franchise (One Piece) Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters *First team to have the name in plural format. *First team to have outfits made of "pleather"- a plastic leather-like material (sans the helmets). *Only lagomorph (rabbit) Ranger *First Gold and Silver colored male duo. *First use of the term Megazord for Robos in-series, then later established the term for Robos in general through Ranger Keys. *First series to have a movie during its run. *First series to have a season of the unofficial Sentai series Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger be aired during its run *Most recent Sentai death. *First series to completely replace the opening theme. **First team to not have a title-card announcement until later in the series with the second opening *Only hippopotamus Ranger (though he only appears in the V-Cinema special) *First team to have an in-series team-up with a Metal Hero. *Only Sentai team whose cameo appearence wasn't the team up of their two preceeding sentai but instead a team up between two different hero series. *First team with three 0.5 Robos. *1800th episode of the Super Sentai series: Mission 21: Farewell, Blue Buster. Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger *First Red/Black/Blue/Green/Pink combination of core Rangers. *Only Parasaurolophus, Stegosaurus, Velociraptor, Ankylosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Plesiosaurus and Spinosaurus Rangers. *First blue ranger in a dinosaur-themed Sentai group to not have the Triceratops motif. *First female Ranger in a dinosaur-themed Sentai group to not to have the Pterosaur motif. **First non-blue Ranger in a dinosaur-themed Sentai-group to have the Triceratops motif. *First Sixth Ranger to have the Pterosaur motif. *Second Brachiosaurus Ranger. *First series to feature all three shades of blue; regular blue (Kyoryu Blue), light blue (Kyoryu Cyan), and dark blue (Deathryuger/Kyoryu Navy). *First series where the villain's base is in the South Pole. *First season where the members of the core team are assembled by the end of the first episode but don't know each other's identities, save one. (The Hurricangers were unaware of the Gouraigers' existence until the seventh episode). Ressha Sentai Toqger *Second team with numerical designations **First with the numbers being the only designations **First with the numbers in Japanese *First team with an Orange Sixth Ranger. *Lowest rated Sentai to date with 3.8% Japanese average viewership and the lowest rated episode in the modern Sentai era to date with Episode 26 viewed by only 2.6% of the Japanese audience. *1900th episode of the Super Sentai series: Station 23: United Hand in Hand. Shuriken Sentai Ninninger *The 40th anniversary of Himitsu Sentai Gorenger (April 5, 1975 - April 5, 2015). *First team to use Japanese color names for their hero forms since Gorenger *First team to have a UFO and a cowboy as mecha. *First team to have a female Pink and White Ranger since Dengeki Sentai Changeman and the first to have a male Yellow Ranger since Mahou Sentai Magiranger. *First team to begin with five members that does not include a Green or Black Ranger. *First female Green Ranger (V-Cinema Exclusive) Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger *The 40th season since Gorenger. This season will continue to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Super Sentai despite it being the 41st year when it airs. *2000th episode of the Super Sentai series: Ep. 29: The Monarch of the Monarchs. *First Main Sentai Team to consist of a majority of anthropomorphic creatures (4 animal humanoids and 1 human) *First team to have a female Blue and White Rangers since Choujin Sentai Jetman. *Its also the first series since Mahou Sentai Magiranger to a female Blue Ranger. *First Sentai to have a Pixel/Rubik's Cube motif in the form of their gear, mecha and weapons. *First female Shark Ranger and first Sentai Elephant Ranger. *First Red Ranger to completely change animal motifs when assuming a stronger form. See also * * *Power Rangers Milestones Category:Super Sentai